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Everything posted by AnotherScott
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Alas, they don't meet the lightweight criteria.
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Well, she plays it well enough for Stevie. And while on stage she may well be playing something different from what Stevie is playing, she probably has a really good knowledge of just what Stevie is playing as well.
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Guitar or bass amps can certainly sound fine for some stuff... Rhodes and organ usually do well... but not even attempting to be "FRFR" (full range, flat response), they have inherent limitations, too. I own both, and the piano sound through the ZXa1 is way more open and natural sounding than through the Rumble. But that brings up an experiment I've been meaning to try. I bring both (or similar) to a gig when I'm doing LH bass, sending just the bass to the Rumble. But I've wondered, if I have both with me anyway, what would it sound like if I took my non-bass sounds and, instead of playing them mono through the ZXa1, I played them stereo through the ZXa1/Rumble combination? Would the drawback of lower fidelity for one channel be more than offset by the sonic/coverage benefits of stereo?
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EV ZXa1 has plenty of highs, and is one of lightest and least expensive speakers that I think sounds good for acoustic pianos. Fender Rumble 100 is nice for what it is, but is not as neutral as the EV. And as you'd expect from a bass amp, it has more bottom and less highs than the EV. I can't find info on that one, only 10" and up (and over 20 lbs). Is this something new?
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Problem with MODX USB Port ~ HELP!
AnotherScott replied to HammondDave's topic in The Keyboard Corner
Before you bring it in for repair (at least if you're no longer under warranty), you might want to try a fresh re-install. -
Problem with MODX USB Port ~ HELP!
AnotherScott replied to HammondDave's topic in The Keyboard Corner
One way to be sure to try: Make the USB connection to the MODX+ after you cold-boot the iPad, but before launching Module or B3X. Other ways may work, but I believe that way should always work to allow apps to see an external audio destination. Also, I don't know about Module, but B3X has an "output device" pop-down on its setting screen. Do you see any option there other than "iOS Audio"? -
Roland RD88 - CC Parameters? What are they?
AnotherScott replied to EastCan's topic in The Keyboard Corner
Some of these CC numbers have become standard across the industry to refer to a particular thing. Examples are 1. Modulation 7. Volume 10. Pan 64. Hold/sustain pedal The RD-88 has a defined a number of these CC messages, mostly following a combination of industry and Roland standards. Right... and they can be found at the end of the downloadable RD88 MIDI Implementation doc. -
Problem with MODX USB Port ~ HELP!
AnotherScott replied to HammondDave's topic in The Keyboard Corner
First question... How are you triggering these apps? Are they being hosted (e.g. by Camelot Pro, Keystage, AUM), or are they running without a host (just by placing them on different MIDI channels)? Second question... In what order are you setting this up? Specifically, at what point are you making the USB connection between the iPad and the MODX+? e.g. before powering up the iPad; or after powering up the iPad but before launching the host/apps, etc.) -
though they appear in different colors (blue vs. green), and you can filter to see just the legos, so in that respect, they do facilitate continuing to work as you're used to.
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Yeah. Especially for a board that supports a standard for 2-way communication, endless encoders with LEDs would seem like a natural, it could keep the controls "in sync" with whatever compatible device it is connected to.
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Mod wheels, levers, joysticks, et al
AnotherScott replied to TommyRude's topic in The Keyboard Corner
Yeah, I don't even try to do anything subtle with the pitch wheels. Mostly just 1/2 step and whole step bends, or a nose dive. As I mentioned, I liked the Nord Stick and old Yamaha CS60 ribbons... those seemed to led themselves to more expression. I also liked the wheel on the original Roland Axis keytar, but that was taking advantage of a placement you couldn't have on a regular keyboard, too. -
iPad as a serious musical instrument
AnotherScott replied to Paul Woodward's topic in The Keyboard Corner
Again, in my experience, kids more often use iPads. I'm talking about young kids here, pre-teens, and especially single-digit. And a quick google search seems to back up that kids don't typically get smartphones that young. Though that tablet experience does make them instantly comfortable with smartphones, too. Either way, the point is, they're growing up completely comfortable in the tablet/smartphone environment, and less so in the Mac/Windows environments, which justifies the point that was being made, "Apple said the future music creators are kids that grew up on iPads and Garage Band and they don't care that much for computers, so were working on Logic on the iPad because that is where they will want to work." -
iPad as a serious musical instrument
AnotherScott replied to Paul Woodward's topic in The Keyboard Corner
The phrase that stuck out to me in docbop's post was "kids that grew up on iPads." What I see is kids are on tablets from a very young age (most often iPads, though my perception may be skewed by being in an area with a lot of affluence). When they get older, okay, they may live on their phones. but to some extent they're "growing up" on iPads/tablets. But either way, as you say, overall, they're more comfortable in that environment than a Mac/PC environment. To Apple's point then, through whatever combination of tablet/smartphone experience, they're growing up more comfortable on something like an iPad then they are on Macs/PCs... so if, say, as a teen they start wanting to do stuff with music beyond what they can easily do on their phone, their inclination may be to choose the iPad over the desktop/laptop. Related, even though Apple products have tended to be associated with a more affluent clientele, starting with Garageband and the like on an iPad is cheaper than getting started on a Mac/PC. If that teen is spending their own money, not only is the iPad something they are probably going to be extremely comfortable with and find simpler than going with a laptop, it's also something they can start with more cheaply. The basic $329 iPad goes a long way. -
Mod wheels, levers, joysticks, et al
AnotherScott replied to TommyRude's topic in The Keyboard Corner
Have you tried to use aftertouch with any precise control on the amount of modulation? Of course some instruments have better AT than others, but generally speaking, aftertouch is the least accurate of all real time controllers. Also, AT always returns to zero the moment that you lift a key, which may not be what you want every time. True that it does vary by board, but also, for my own use, I actually don't need a subtle control of AT... the amount of mod I want the AT to introduce (if it's not the amount introduced by default) would probably be something I'd program into the patch. Importantly here, having AT trigger your mod effect wouldn't preclude you from using your LH mod controller on those patches where either you need finer control, or where you don't want the AT effect to go to zero when the key is lifted. But even then, there is a good chance you don't want those effects to auto-return as they do on a paddle or joystick. For me, for the common use of some amount of vibrato, AT feels the most natural, auto-ends when I need it to end, and allows me to keep my left hand free to play another part or perform another operation. AT can work well for other mods as well. But if I'm looking to do something where a LH mod control is indeed better, odds are still strong that I'm not going to need it to auto-return. The things that I want to auto-return are things that likely work fine with AT. And for the times I might want the LH control to spring back to zero, well, you can't have everything in the same control, and I'd much rather have to manually spin back a wheel when an auto-return would have been preferable than the reverse of having to deal with a control that wants to auto-return when I don't want it to. So yeah... AT for auto-return, LH mod control not. -
The 5-pin In is sometimes useful on controllers, e.g. when the controller itself has presets that can be recalled via MIDI. Even though the board may be soundless, it can still have presets that include various controller assignments, split points, octave transpositions, MIDI channels, etc. So let's say you were using the controller with some primary board (MODX, Nautilus, Fantom, whatever), with the two connected over 5-pin. You might want to call up a patch on your main board, and have it simultaneously set your controller for how you want it configured for triggering some of the sounds in your main board.
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The important thing here is not just being able to bi-directionally directly connect to a 5-pin 2.0 MIDI device (e.g. Wavestate) at the same time, but to be able to connect to such a device at all. (If it only had USB, you would not be able to connect it to the Wavestate or other future 5-pin 2.0 devices unless those devices could function as USB hosts.) You mean like sliders and buttons?
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Mod wheels, levers, joysticks, et al
AnotherScott replied to TommyRude's topic in The Keyboard Corner
Repeating what I've said in the past... I dislike that Roland paddle (as the only such controller) because of how hard it is to use the modulation axis without also bending the pitch. Joystick is just as bad. Also, both are bad for leaving the Y-axis mod in position... you don't always want it to spring back (Korg has lock buttons for that, but it's an awkward solution for a problem of their own making... plus if you later want to undo the operation, the stick is no longer in the correct position to fade the effect down as smoothly as you faded it up.). To me, if you want modulation that "auto returns" to zero, that's what aftertouch is for. On a LH control, my mod axis might be a tone crossfade, or a filter cutoff, or other such effect that I want to leave in place. Assignable knobs may be able to do these things as well, but lots of board don't have freely assignable knobs. You may be able to use an expression pedal, if your board has enough jacks for an extra expression pedal besides anything you might already be using, and you don't care about having to buy/bring and take the time to set up another thing. All of which is to say... for me, for mod, nothing beats the old fashioned wheel. I like that Roland offers both approaches on some boards, though (e.g. JD-XA, Fantom, Fantom-0). For pitch, the things I've liked best are long ribbons (like on my old Yamaha CS-60) and the Nord pitch stick. Everything else seems less visceral and more dainty. But I'm not as fussy about that. The more important thing to me is that pitch bend should auto-return, but there should be a modulation control that does not. -
USB is bidirectional (can send/receive over a single cable), 5-pin MIDI is not, you need one connection to send (OUT) and another connection to receive (IN).
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This topic isn't really limited to one-off gigs, there are other scenarios where you have to show up and play a song you barely know. One of my bands does weddings and other private events, and we always offer to do a couple of "special songs" that aren't on our song list (e.g. the B&G may want a particular song for their first dance, etc.).
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For songs that are not in my head, I chart the songs on paper as I learn them (using the term "chart" loosely, I admit), and then have a photo of that chart attached to the set list app in my iPad. My tip here is to put at the head of the chart the name of some other song you are familiar with that has a similar feel, to remind yourself of the general approach.
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"Waveform" is used multiple ways in the MODX manual, sometimes the way you'd probably expect. But the Yamaha-specific use of it is this one: See, a Waveform contains Key Banks, which in turn contain waveforms. All clear? 😉 Yeah, that part is sensible, except, as I said, I don't like calling the part combinations "Performances." The words that other companies used for that (combi, multi, setup, registration) are all more descriptive of the function, and don't create the conflict with another musical use of the word (leading to the fact that the MODX has a feature called "Performance Recorder" which has nothing to do with the thing that Yamaha oddly calls a Performance).
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Normally, data arriving at a board's MIDI IN is *not* echoed to any MIDI OUT, unless there is specifically a function to enable that (essentially allowing the OUT to also function as a THRU).
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Picking up from my earlier comment about how Yamaha's repurposing of words that normally mean something else makes their terminology more confusing... I mentioned how a Montage "Waveform" is something that, itself, contains a number of what we normally call waveforms and how the board requires you to employ both meanings, a complication that could easily have been avoided by not using a word to mean something that already means something else. (What they misleadingly call a Waveform could have been called, say, a Waveset or something along those lines.) Similarly, I've also remembered that, not only do they use "Performance" in what I think is an odd way (to refer to a combination of sounds, as I mentioned), but they also use the word in its more traditional meaning, since they have a feature called "Performance Recorder" which of course has nothing to do with the thing they call a Performance. 🙂
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I'm sure Yamaha's forum is not gone for good. It's probably the most "secure" of the bunch, since unlike the 3rd-party run Korg/Roland/Nord forums, the Yamaha one is actually owned by Yamaha (even though the operation of it is outsourced). I just hope that, when they finally do get it going again, all the old content is still there!